Creative's new budget video camera

Though most well-known for sound cards and MP3 players, Creative has always had a wide range of products including Webcams and even input peripherals. The Vado Pocket Video Cam is the latest, a low-cost video camera which is extremely compact at 100 x 55 x 16mm. It has a 2-inch display and a USB connector which hides away when not in use.

The purpose of this device is to make taking videos easy. It captures at VGA quality with a maximum frame rate of 30fps. Some high-end mobile phones (like the Nokia N82 and LG Viewty) can also capture at that resolution, as well as most modern compact cameras-- a fact that narrows the target audience of the Vado. But for those without an expensive camera-phone or don't carry a digital camera around, it could be a good way to get higher-quality videos for all your YouTube uploading needs.

The Vado will be available starting June in Asia Pacific at a retail price of S$169. It comes with 2GB of in-built memory with no expansion slot and weighs 84g. For more details of its specifications, visit Creative's Web site.

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Olympus announces two new dSLRS and a pancake lens

All this time that Olympus was lying low, it was probably developing the E-420--the world's smallest and thinnest dSLR. Measuring just 53mm thick and 380g, the Japanese company touts this camera as "ideal for traveling or just walking around town". It will ship with a 10-megapixel sensor and 2.7-inch HyperCrystal III LCD display with Live View.
To complement the size of the E-420, Olympus has also released the 25mm F2.8 lens in the traditional pancake form of 23.5mm thin and 95g light. While you may be scratching your head and wondering what "pancake" means, it is a term of endearment that photographers give to small and thin lenses usually found on rangefinders. The lens offers a view of 50mm (35mm equivalent) when used with Olympus 4/3 systems.

Alongside, we see the E-520. Although it is chunkier than the E-420, we attribute this to the built-in image stabilizer (IS) mechanism that is not present in its smaller sibling. The IS system is driven by Olympus' proprietary Sonic Wave Drive, and shutterbugs can expect to shoot at lower shutter speeds without using a tripod. Other than the IS, the E-520 specifications remain pretty much the same as the E-420.

The shooters and lens will be available in Asia from June. However, pricing was unavailable at press time but we will update once we have the information.

(Photo credits: Olympus)

Digital frame has a secret to pull out

We know, it's just what the world needs--another digital photo frame. But this one's different, honest. At least a little bit.

Kenko's KDF-07 may look like an ordinary 7-inch screen, as seen on Fareastgizmos, but it hides a secret control panel that slides out from the side then retracts when not in use to maintain the sleek look of the frame in silver, black matte, and wood grain finishes. That's hardly enough reason to charge US$160 on the Japanese market for a product that has comparable competition for less money and more features from other other manufacturers. We do appreciate the size, however, because in digital photo frames we think smaller is better.

Via Crave CNET

GP's new mini charger taps on USB

While GP has had USB chargers in the past, its latest offering was designed with portability in mind. Possibly one of the company's smallest AA/AAA-sized battery chargers to date, the Power Bank M530 is no larger than a small clamshell phone, which makes it really easy to carry around. An onboard foldable USB plug also means there's no need to bring along any messy cables and makes for easy storage while traveling.

According to GP, the M530 takes 1-2 hours to charge an AA/AAA (NiMH) battery and can handle up to two batteries at a go. A quick glance of the instruction manual, however, shows that the estimation is based mainly on a 1,300mAh and the lower-capacity AAA cells. To charge one 2,500mAh AA battery takes approximately 212 minutes (3.5 hours), which is pretty long. But that's to be expected of most USB-powered chargers.

The M530 also features several nifty onboard functions such as alerts to warn users of damaged or wrong batteries being inserted, an automatic cutoff feature to prevent overheating, and self-termination of the charging process (once the battery is fully charged). It comes bundled with two pieces of 2,500mAh rechargeable AA batteries and is expected to retail in Singapore from early June at about S$26.90 (US$19.78). GP currently has no fixed dates on the launch of the M530 in other Asian countries.

Eye-Fi's Wi-Fi answers 'Where was I?'

When we reviewed Eye-Fi's Wi-Fi card for digital cameras back in November, it was but a lonely single child in the company's product portfolio. Today, Eye-Fi announced the birth of siblings, creating a tiered product line of SD add-in cards that deliver Wi-Fi connectivity--and now more--to digital cameras.

The kid bound to get the most attention is the Eye-Fi Explore, a US$129 card with two notable features. First, the company has teamed up with Skyhook Wireless to provide geotagging for your photos; Skyhook's Wi-Fi positioning system essentially triangulates your location via queries to local wireless access points. Second, when you purchase the Explore card, you get a free year of Wayport hotspot access--just for your photo uploads, of course. (I won't be able to resist sticking the card in my laptop to see what happens, though.) While an interesting, novel approach to geotagging that I look forward to trying, it's clearly a solution for those who stick to urban areas. But given Skyhook's claimed accuracy of 20m you could probably reconstruct a night of drinking that ended badly even if you can't quite make out the photos.

With Eye-Fi Share, the company simply rebrands the existing product at the current price of US$99. Both Share and Explore allow you to upload your photos to most of the popular photo-sharing services and Facebook.
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